Analysis of Factors Influencing the Severity of Motor Vehicle Accidents in California Based on C5.0 Decision Tree Algorithm

To analyze the significant factors of the severity of motor vehicle traffic accidents, traffic accidents were divided into three categories: minor, serious, and fatal accidents. Eleven independent variables relating to people, vehicle, accident, and environment were selected, and the influence factor of each variable on accident severity was calculated based on C5.0 decision tree algorithm. The results showed that vehicle type, accident type, and the action of the vehicle before the accident had a greater influence on accident severity. In particular, factors including vehicle type of passenger car, accident type of Auto-Pedestrian, poor lighting conditions at night, and wet and muddy road surface may result in serious accidents. The prediction model based on C5.0 algorithm yields a high accuracy of 89%. The conclusion indicates that traffic accidents are caused by multiple factors, drivers should drive carefully and consciously participate in safety education, and road and traffic facilities should be improved.